Joined Lives
by Nara Bluestar
Summary: An orc family and a draenei family must learn to accept a startling change in their lives. Three short follow-ups to the events of In a Dark Place. DraeneiXorc.
1. Ratchet

* * *

With a massive crash a drunken troll came skidding out the tavern door and rolled to a halt, lanky limbs flailing. Whoops of laughter followed him from inside the tavern. He scrambled to his feet, gave a sloppy salute to the door, and stumbled off into the growing dusk. Hyara rolled her eyes skyward from where she sat on a barrel several yards away. That sort of thing happened with alarming regularity in this area of Ratchet near the docks, as she'd come to realize after a few hours of sitting here. Damn Gheris for picking this place… Well, she'd meet her brother here out front, but he was delusional if he thought he'd find her waiting inside. 

Galmak had been uneasy about letting her come down here to wait with only Gink, but of course he realized why she wanted it.

She'd shrugged dismissively when he voiced his concerns. "It's just Ratchet."

"It was just Everlook too," he'd responded quietly.

But in the end he'd agreed to stay up near the inn and send Palla out with her, who could alert him to trouble in an instant. He'd made Hyara promise to scream bloody murder if she thought she might even possibly be in danger. Now she swung her hooves impatiently against the barrel and wondered how Gheris's "late afternoon" meeting time had magically decided to become "late evening." Her nervousness was growing greater each minute she sat here, but it wasn't nervousness about her brother's whereabouts; she knew he'd show up eventually. She was nervous about the news she was going to give him. How did one go about telling her big brother that she, a draenei, had married an orc? And then of course that reminded her that this was only the dress rehearsal for the real show, when she would have to eventually return to Exodar and tell her parents. And her grandfather. She rubbed a knuckle against her forehead, trying to dispel a faint headache. Hyara had written to Gheris asking him to meet her somewhere and he'd responded with this place in Ratchet. She hoped this would go well; she had a feeling she would need his moral support when the time came to tell the rest of her family.

Gink's form, ghostly and nearly invisible in the failing light, slunk around the corner of a nearby shop.

_He's uhh… he's coming_, Gink said. Hyara puzzled at her cat's manner, but was relieved that her brother had finally decided to show up.

There was a shriek one street away, heavy footfalls and snorting, and suddenly a giant kodo thundered into view. Bobbling precariously on its back , spiky dark hair swooshing in all directions, was Gheris. The kodo apparently decided it'd had enough of the draenei on its back because it swung its ponderous head to one side, rocking its body and tumbling Gheris hooves over tail in a heap on the ground. Hyara started to rush to his aid but he sprung up immediately and set about trying to grab the testy animal's reigns. The huge bulk of a tauren came sprinting around a corner. Gheris gave a shout and a wave, the tauren jogged over, and the two men laughed heartily. Hyara saw the glint of gold pass from her brother's hand to the tauren's. When the giant bull had led the kodo away and Gheris stood dusting himself in the street, Hyara finally strolled over.

"Well, fancy seeing you here," she said with a smile.

Her brother gave a whoop and crushed her in a hug. "Hyara! Light, how long has it been."

"About a year now, I guess," she said with a sigh, then raised her eyebrows. "And what was that all about?"

He chuckled. "Haven't you ever wanted to ride a kodo? I've always wanted one. That one sure didn't want me though." He gestured toward the tavern and his eyes twinkled. "Have you had a drink yet? Or haven't you been inside?"

She punched him in the side. "I should have known you'd pick a place that would appeal to my finer tastes."

"Oh well," he sighed in mock disappointment. "We can find someplace else if you'd like, but you know that place has goblin rocket fuel shots? Such a shame to miss out…"

Hyara wrinkled her nose. "Say… what?"

"Exactly!" He laughed. "Where're you staying?"

"The inn up that way on the hill… you know, the one near the edge of town."

"Ah, okay." He started to head that direction, but Hyara put a hand on his arm.

"Gheris… let's not go there yet. There's… uh, there's something I wanted to talk about first." She swallowed. He'd always been the best of older brothers to her, but she still couldn't predict exactly how he'd react. He frowned slightly, sensing her sudden unease, and led her over to the waterside. She held his arm as they walked in silence for a few moments in the darkness by the water. She'd missed him. She worried about him sometimes, afraid his penchant for mischief might take him too far someday, and even get him into some kind of official trouble. He was a vindicator, after all, and looked the part, but he certainly didn't always act like it.

"First off, how have you been?" she asked. He told her news of his recent visit home, some of the places he'd been. He'd even ventured a return to Draenor a few weeks ago through the Dark Portal. At this he sighed. "It's called Outland now, of course. Do you remember the Peninsula? I can remember some of it, as it used to be. There's nothing of its old self left. Now… how about yourself? And what is it that's got you so nervous?"

Hyara took a deep breath of sea air. She chose to ignore his first question. How she had been for much of the past year was not something she wanted to think about or discuss. "I'm glad to see you. I really am. But you have to be wondering why I asked you to meet me here?"

She saw him nod in the moonlight, but he remained silent and let her speak.

"Well… there are some things I need to tell you, things I'm going to have to tell mother, father, and grandfather soon… I'm not sure how they'll take it, but I wanted you to know first. The first thing is that I got married a few weeks ago."

Gheris's handsome face registered astonishment, but he soon broke into a delighted grin. "Hyara, that's great news!" He folded her in another bear hug, picked her up, and twirled her around. She laughed and was glad he wasn't offended that she hadn't told him sooner; she'd been afraid she would have to deal with that difficulty too.

"Is that why you're so jumpy? Afraid I'd come after the guy who married my sister without my permission?" He shot her another grin.

She smiled back weakly and tried not to picture what a fight that would be. "So… that's half of it. There's more to tell you." By the Light, she was becoming a master at stalling. If it was this hard telling Gheris, how bad would it be telling her parents? And Grandfather… "My… my husband is an orc."

To her horror, he roared with laughter. She supposed she should have anticipated it though.

"Gheris… Gheris! Cut it out!" She stamped a hoof in the dirt.

"Alright, alright. Well, can I meet him? Is he here?"

"Oh yes, he's here. He's at the inn." In the darkness she rolled her eyes and shrugged. This time the joke was on him. She didn't see the point in standing here all night trying to convince him she was serious. "Fair warning though, my dearest big brother… you had your chance to believe me."

"So I did. And if he's an orc, I'll kiss a kodo."

"You'll have to let me know if kodos are good kissers."

He whistled as they walked in the muggy night air, and Hyara felt a pang of homesickness remembering their night-time childhood walks together between Exodar and Azure Watch. Ahead, the inn spilled welcoming yellow light onto the road up the hill. Hyara's hunter senses detected Galmak's hulking shape in the shadows even before he stood and approached from his perch on the hillside overlooking the town. Gheris squinted in the darkness, his paladin's senses telling him little about the shape that approached… except that this man was too short for a draenei. Galmak came close, stepping into the light from the windows, and Gheris's jaw dropped in shock. His head swiveled toward Hyara, who was looking at him with raised eyebrows and a small smile playing on her lips. She took Galmak's hand.

"He didn't believe me," she whispered to the orc, who chuckled a little hesitantly. "Gheris," she said in orcish to her stunned brother. "This is my husband Galmak. Galmak, my brother Gheris."

"Uh," said Gheris. "I guess I need to find a kodo." Hyara burst into relieved laughter.

Galmak looked puzzled, but he extended his hand. Gheris still looked blindsided, but he took Galmak's hand and shook it firmly.

"I never thought I'd have an orc for a brother-in-law," Gheris said.

"I never dreamed I'd marry a draenei," Galmak responded. As if by magic, all tension evaporated and the three of them stood laughing together. Hyara grabbed them both by the hand and steered them inside the inn where they took a corner table. The common room was neither crowded nor deserted, only just full enough to give a pleasant hum of low conversations. Here in this bustling port town Horde and Alliance mingled almost freely, and the group paid no attention to the inn's other patrons.

"Do you know Common?" Gheris asked once they were seated. Galmak looked at him quizzically and Gheris grimaced. "I don't suppose you know draenei? Or even eredun?" he tried hopefully.

Hyara let out an exasperated breath. "No. Go back to orcish, you bum."

"My orcish is a little rusty," Gheris said in orcish. "But anyway. How did this come about? There must be quite a story here."

They told him of how they'd met in Felwood, how Galmak had saved her life. Hyara glossed over the exact nature of her injury, though. That topic came too near things better left buried.

"We were married by the druids at the Emerald Circle." Hyara was fairly glowing, remembering it. "They were very kind and understanding."

Galmak realized he'd been stroking her tail unconsciously and jerked his hand away. Gheris was staring at the ceiling.

The paladin cleared his throat. "It looks like I have you to thank for saving my sister's life and making her very happy." He turned to Hyara. "And I'm happy for you. Don't worry about the rest of the bunch back home. When you're ready to tell them, I'll be there."

Hyara hugged her brother tearfully. "Thank you for understanding," she whispered.

They drank to the marriage, they drank to each other, they drank to the future. When all was said and done they drank a little too much, but it didn't matter because they were alive, happy, and together.

* * *


	2. The Barrens

* * *

The warm wind sighed through tall grass and sparse, gnarled trees as Galmak's riding wolf traveled at an easy lope through territory it knew well. Some thought the Barrens a desolate place, but Hyara thought it was beautiful and wild, its open space inviting her to run free for miles with the sunlight on her face and the grass filling her with its spicy, heady scent. 

"We're close," the orc said as they passed Far Watch Post heading north. In the distance at the Post, Hyara could see Horde soldiers moving leisurely about their business in the heat of the afternoon. This was as close as she'd ever been to a Horde city, and their destination was closer still to Orgrimmar. Hyara drew her hood a little closer around her face despite the heat.

"Don't worry," Galmak said and kissed the back of her neck.

They rounded a ridge, and a small, round house came into view. Chickens and domesticated boars milled around outside in small enclosing pens. Bushes grew all around the house, obscuring the walls except where a few windows peeked from the glossy green leaves.

"And here we are," Galmak said quietly and pulled the wolf up to a walk. He dismounted and helped Hyara down. "Wait here a minute… they may not even be home."

The draenei stood stroking the wolf's soft fur as Galmak walked to the house and called out, announcing his presence. There was a sudden metallic clang from the other side of the cottage. A stocky male orc came bolting around the corner, saw Galmak, and gave a great bellow of unmistakable joy. From where she stood, Hyara smiled at Galmak's reunion with his father, then with a wince prayed that she wouldn't ruin it all. She had so far gone unnoticed.

"Is mother here?" she heard Galmak ask, and the older orc nodded.

"Inside. Kid from one of the farms south got a nasty plainstrider bite and she's making an ointment for him. Son, what took you so long to get back here? Don't tell me you forgot your old parents!"

Galmak chuckled and shook his head. "You know yourself the world's big, Dad." The older orc propelled his son toward the door, but Galmak held up his hand.

"Wait a minute, Dad, there's someone I want you to meet." He strode back to where Hyara waited by the wolf, and only now did Galmak's father turn that direction. Hyara saw him go rigid with surprise as he took in the sight of her hooves poking from beneath the long cloak she wore. Galmak led her over to his father and she pushed back her hood. "Dad… this is my wife, Hyara." She gave him a tentative smile.

He stood for a moment staring speechlessly. Then he cleared his throat and glanced at his son. "Ah… well, I'm Lurigk," he finally said. Belatedly he seemed to remember to hold out his hand, and Hyara took it. "Your mother's in the house," he said to Galmak. As they followed him to the door, Hyara stole a look at her husband. He glanced back at her with a furrowed brow, but patted her reassuringly.

The house was cool after the heat of the Barrens at midday. Pleasant, pungent smells of drying herbs met Hyara's nose, and there was something boiling in a pot on a small stove that gave off a sharp, minty scent. The herbs themselves hung in bundles of muted color from the ceiling and even from the backs of the chairs that stood neatly around a small round table. An orc woman appeared in the doorway from the cottage's single other room. She was tall for an orc, with long, deep violet hair that was just beginning to show streaks of grey. Her velvet brown eyes took in her son first, and at once a radiant smile split her face. Galmak hugged her long and tightly. When she released him she turned immediately to Hyara. Lurigk was staring at the floor and didn't see his wife's questioning glance.

Galmak stepped hastily to his wife's side. "Mother, this is Hyara. She's my wife."

"I am Serlah." Where Lurigk's shock had been apparent, she betrayed nothing of what she felt. Hyara took the hand she offered, but the draenei was beginning to wish Galmak could have prepared them somehow.

Hyara turned to Galmak. "Perhaps I should make sure Gink has found water," she ventured. Galmak looked torn, but he nodded. With relief, Hyara fled the house and trotted over to where Gink was resting in the shade of the ridge. He raised his head as she approached.

_Not so good, eh?_

_Well… I don't know. __Maybe not.__ I just don't know. __He needs to talk with them, __that's__ for sure. _

Inside, Galmak felt like a child caught misbehaving. He struggled to shrug off the feeling. This wasn't going quite like he'd hoped.

"She's your wife," his father finally said in the silence.

"Galmak," his mother said quietly. "Tell us about this. Tell us about her. How did this come to be?"

He told them. It was the same story they'd told Gheris a week ago, all true but not all the truth. He thought his parents would have understood better if they'd known everything, but Hyara wasn't yet ready to have that terrible chapter of their lives known. Instead, he said that they'd traveled together in Winterspring after leaving Felwood, fought side by side, and come to love and respect each other.

But Serlah had always been perceptive of her son's moods, and she sensed that there were holes in his story. "It sounds as though you spent a very long time in Winterspring together." She eyed him closely. From when he'd found her in Felwood to when he said they'd come back to Felwood and been married at the Emerald Circle… that spanned a goodly amount of time. She had caught his unease as he talked about their time in Winterspring.

To her surprise, Galmak looked her right in the eye. "Mother, I… I don't exactly have permission to tell you the whole story. Some things happened in Winterspring. Mostly to Hyara. They were things no person should ever have to go through. We're still working through it… but that time brought us together."

Lurigk grunted. "Well. It appears we have a daughter-in-law… who is going to think we're very bad hosts." He threw open the door and strode out, over to where Hyara sat with Gink. "Come!" he called. "Hyara… come in out of the heat."

They sat together at the table drinking cool water flavored with herbs and eating a small feast of roast boar that Serlah seemed to produce from nowhere at the slightest notice. Hyara admired the herbs hung about the cottage, and Serlah showed her a few of the brews she could make with them. Lurigk was mostly silent, but when he spoke his pride in his son was evident. Hyara even got to hear a few of the more embarrassing stories from Galmak's childhood that she had prodded him to recount so long ago.

All at once there was a shout from outside, followed a few seconds later by a knock on the door. Hyara froze.

"That'll be our neighbors, come for that ointment," Lurigk said calmly. Serlah motioned to Hyara and escorted her into the back room, then closed the door on her way out.

The bedroom was tiny and oddly shaped, considering that it had been carved out of the back of the round house. It too was hung about with herbs, and there was also an assortment of mortars and pestles, vials, various bowls filled with powders, and any number of other accoutrements for a master alchemist. On a shelf behind a row of empty vials something glinting in the sunlight attracted Hyara's eye. She moved closer for a look. She felt a little guilty for prying, but then again the room was so small that it was impossible not to take in everything that was out in plain sight. As she peered around a large crystal vial, her breath hitched in her throat. The thing on the shelf, glinting in the sunlight, was an insignia mark of the Burning Legion. Surely it didn't mean…

The door opened quietly. Hyara didn't turn; she couldn't seem to take her eyes off the horrible thing on the shelf. "Ah, no," she heard Serlah sigh.

Hyara turned with a face pale as snow. "Galmak told me… he said he was born in an internment camp. I didn't know that meant… I thought all orcs were put in the camps, regardless…"

"They were," Serlah replied. "But much to our shame, Lurigk and I were among the ones actually guilty of serving the Legion. I keep that as a warning and a reminder."

Galmak appeared behind his mother. For some reason Hyara couldn't bring herself to look at him. He looked from his mother to his wife's stricken face. "What…?"

Serlah crossed the room, took the insignia from the shelf, and placed it out of sight inside a small wooden box.

"Hyara…" Galmak said. "I told you about my past… I thought you understood."

"I didn't," she shot back. "You didn't tell me they fought for the Legion. You told me they were held in the camps; it isn't the same thing."

"I'm sorry, love. I didn't realize… I thought you knew what that meant," he said sadly.

"I suppose I took from that what I wanted to hear," she said softly. "And then I didn't think about it anymore after… after…everything." She buried her face in his shoulder and squeezed her eyes shut.

Serlah and Lurigk watched their son and his new wife with bittersweet feelings of regret and relief. Perhaps they could never atone for the sins of their past, but their son at least was free of all guilt, and through him they could taste a scrap of forgiveness.

* * *


	3. Azuremyst

A/N: Thanks for reading! Next in the series is Secrets and Lies in a Shattered World. Don't forget to review if you feel so inclined! :)

* * *

"Shhhh! What are you doing?"

"Huh? Nothing…"

"You're making ten kinds of noise, quit moving around! Do you know how much I had to pay the captain…" But Hyara couldn't help snorting with laughter; the absurdity of an orc in a trunk was too much.

"They'd better load faster, I think there's a damn dead rat in here."

"Hush, it's your turn now." She struggled mightily to keep the laughter out of her voice as the pair of dockworkers approached. "This one's mine." She tapped the big wooden trunk with her hoof and the burly humans hefted it with difficulty.

"Yeesh, lady…" one of them puffed.

Hyara followed meekly with Gink and Palla as the men struggled down the dock and boarded the ship.

"Down in the second cabin on the right, please," she said. They eyed her murderously.

She shut the cabin door as the men left. Behind her the trunk's latch clicked and Galmak flung the lid open with a thud. He grinned and shook his head at his wife, who was helpless with laughter.

"Well, now what; I stay here?" he asked.

Hyara's laughter subsided. "Don't worry, only for about a day. It doesn't take long to get from Auberdine to Azuremyst. Then you just get back in your trunk again and they unload you!" She couldn't help laughing again. "Oh, don't look at me like that, you aren't the one who had to talk to seven different captains before finding the one who seemed like he'd go for this! Of course, he still doesn't know exactly what was in there, I just paid him enough and promised him it wasn't dangerous."

Galmak pushed her against the door with his body. "Oh, but I am dangerous," he said wickedly. "And you have to spend all day in here with me."

Hyara giggled and surrendered to his kisses.

* * *

Hyara ended up sitting on Galmak's trunk for an hour before the dock area had cleared out enough. She could hear him grunting from time to time as he shifted position. Finally the last of the workers had departed back to Exodar; this was a sleepy port, and they wouldn't return until the next ship was due. Dusk had fallen, bringing the first stars gleaming through the pines. Hyara slipped off the trunk and raised the lid.

"Bleeehhh," Galmak said, rising and blinking blearily. He stretched and inhaled the warm night air. Hyara kissed him and massaged his shoulders.

"I'm sorry we had to do it this way," she said.

"Eh, this was probably the best way. We might have searched forever to find a mercenary ship to take us, only to be sold into slavery the minute we were out of sight of land."

They dragged the trunk out of sight into the nearby trees and tried to camouflage it some with a few fallen branches and leaves. Galmak examined their handiwork and shrugged. "If it stays, it stays. I'm not going to be too upset if that thing walks away," he said, giving the trunk an evil look.

Hyara grinned and took his hand. "Come. It's not far, but we'll have to be careful." As she had known they would be at this time of year, her family was staying in the house she'd grown up in at Azure Watch instead of their small house in Exodar. Hyara had written to her brother a few weeks ago, and true to his word, Gheris had written back to say that he would be there when she arrived on Azuremyst Isle. By now her family would know that she would be coming home soon.

The forest around them hummed with life as they walked. Insects and even a few night birds and bats darted among the trees, and once Hyara turned to meet the pale, wide eyes of a moongraze stag staring at her. With a nearly soundless flicker of its hooves it disappeared back into the trees. The wind had picked up some, sending a few wispy clouds scuttling across the deep purple sky and carrying the rich, spicy scents of all the island's growing things. Hyara smiled and swung Galmak's hand, and couldn't help skipping a little like a child. She was home again. Ahead, lights began to wink into sight from behind a low rise.

"Azure Watch," Hyara said softly, and led Galmak off the path to walk in the sheltering trees. They topped a small, tree-covered hill overlooking the southeastern edge of the village. Hyara pointed down a short way to one of the little moon-white houses at the foot of the hill. "That's the one." She kissed him lingeringly. "Wait here. I'll come get you soon." Galmak settled himself against the thick bole of a tree and took a deep breath of the wild night air. He didn't bother looking around for Palla or Gink; they were both long gone on their own moonlit adventures tonight.

Hyara trotted down the hill and pushed at the little house's door, but it was locked. She knocked and heard heavy footfalls, the knob rattled, and then her brother cursed genially inside. The door flung wide and she found herself smothered in Gheris's hug.

"Hah! She's here!" he called, and she was immediately surrounded by her laughing, grinning family.

"Everyone together again," her mother sighed. She pressed a warm cup of tea into Hyara's hands and led her to sit at the table on one side of the small front room. Hyara smiled as her eyes traveled across her family and the house she knew so well, virtually unchanged all her life, with Grandfather's crystals, the old familiar furniture, and most of all, the numerous books lining the walls.

"Gheris said you were coming, but we almost didn't believe him, it's been so long," her father said with a smile.

"It has been a while." Hyara squeezed her grandfather's hand across the table. He looked just as she remembered him from the last time she'd seen him, his hair eternally silver-grey and his features strong and unlined as ever. "I want to hear how everyone's been," she said.

They protested that they'd rather hear how she had been, but Gheris interjected with a few recent events in Azure Watch and soon Hyara was hearing all about them. She felt with a pang how much she missed the quiet life she'd had here as a child, but still she knew that life was no longer for her.

Finally her grandfather fixed her with his stern but kindly eyes. "Child, we've heard nothing from you. Account for yourself, or we'll think you've been avoiding us all this time!" he said with a smile.

Hyara smiled back and pursed her lips. She threw a glance at Gheris, who was leaning easily back in his chair looking at her intently with raised eyebrows. She felt the urge to nudge his chair backward and tip him onto the floor; he looked like he was settling in for a good show. She stuck out her tongue at him from behind her teacup.

"Well, to be honest, I suppose I have been avoiding you all a bit because… because I didn't know how to tell you that I got married," she finished in a rush.

Her mother gave a strangled squeak and covered her mouth. Then they were all talking at once, all but Gheris.

"By the Light, Hyara, who is he? Who is his family? Anyone we know?" her father asked excitedly.

"And where is he," her mother said. "Surely you brought him along?"

Hyara took a deep breath. "Of course I brought him along. I wanted to tell you all first. There's something else though that you need to hear before I bring him in."

They were looking at her expectantly and a little bemusedly.

"His name is Galmak. He's an orc," she said.

There was stunned silence for a moment, but Gheris broke it. "And he's a good man," her brother said quietly. "I think Hyara picked very well."

Her mother looked at Gheris. "You… you knew? Hyara, I don't understand… why?" She turned to her husband, but he was staring at his daughter in astonishment.

Hyara squeezed her brother's hand under the table in thanks. "Mother, I married him because I love him and he loves me. Because, despite our differences, we're meant for each other. I want you all to meet him. I know you'll understand if you give him a chance." Then her eyes met her grandfather's and she almost recoiled at the anger she saw there. He rose slowly to his hooves and looked down at his granddaughter from his considerable height.

"No orc will set foot under this roof," he said coldly.

"Grandfather-" she began tremulously.

"Silence!" he roared. Hyara had never seen him so angry. His tail lashed the air viciously as he continued. "You've dishonored us all. I would never have thought this. I would never have believed that my only granddaughter, whom I tried to raise in the Light, would play the whore to an orc, to one of our greatest enemies!"

"Father!" Hyara's mother exclaimed in horror, but he silenced her with a gesture.

Hyara had listened with sadness as he spoke, but at his last words her fury blazed white hot. She hardly knew what she did as she leapt up and slammed a fist into the table. Her breath came ragged. "Don't you dare! Don't you dare say that to me… I _have_ played whore to one of our greatest enemies, and he was no orc! He was one of _your_ kind, like you, from Argus; maybe you knew him! Maybe you could have been like him, maybe any of us could, I almost was…" The words seemed to rip from her of their own volition. She choked on a sob and sunk back down with her head in her hands. She felt Gheris's arms around her and she clung to him.

"Hyara…" he said softly. "What are you talking about?" She turned her tear-streaked face to him and knew that she could no longer keep the horrible secret of her past year; that she no longer wanted to keep it from the people who could share her pain and help her heal. She only wished Galmak were here to help her; but they needed to hear his role first. Maybe it would help them understand.

She told them her story, and when she was done she looked at her grandfather and saw that his eyes were filled with tears. She had never seen him look so old. She walked around the table and hugged him tightly. He gathered her into his arms and sat rocking her for a moment.

"Hyara," her grandfather said quietly. "Granddaughter… bring in your husband."

Hyara slipped out into the night and called to Galmak. He came down the hill to her, whistling softly, and together they stepped hand-in-hand into the house where her family waited, his now too.

* * *


End file.
